Everyday millions of American women go to sleep worrying about looking too old. We wake up feeling overweight or not curvaceous enough. We buy product after product to change this or that, year after year. This hang-up we have with superficial beauty is no coincidence, nor is it surprising.
All our lives, we’ve been pressured by mainstream America to look our best – keep in mind that in America “our best” is by no means defined as “natural” – and influenced by peers, severely photoshopped models, and thousands of commercials to pile on tons of makeup day in and day out.
The message? Simply – We would look much better and actually be much better if we changed almost everything about ourselves.
If you name it, a store (or doctor) has it – concealer, foundation, blush, lipstick, lip gloss, mascara, eyeliner, eye shadow, eyelashes, bronzer, lightening cream, spray tans… (One second, let me catch my breath for this very necessary run-on sentence)… There are weaves, perms, texturizers, fake nails, fake boobs, lips, Botox injections, contacts, and – to my astonishment – fake butts, hips, and waistlines are now a real and accessible trick of the beauty trade as well.
It’s gone so far that – until a few hours ago when it got pulled by Apple – there was actually an app called “Plastic Surgery Barbra” that was recommended as being suitable for children ages 9 and over, and it allowed kids to practice their liposuction skills on Barbie. Seriously?
Most of us buy into at least some portion of this craziness, because how can a little concealer hurt? What’s wrong with enhancing your features, bringing out your chestnut brown eyes a little for that sexy date tonight, or even adding a few extensions in your hair to switch up your everyday look?
Nothing, until we as women start buying into the extraordinary idea that we’re just not as great when we’re natural. Nothing is wrong with any of it until women who have surgically enhanced their bodies by trimming their waistlines, or boosting their butts with saline solution (or whatever method is most popular these days) begin to describe their former, natural bodies as flawed.
That sends a message.
In recent video clips, where she “advocates” for going ahead and fixing any “flaws that you may think you have” if that’s what you’d like to do, rapper and exotic dancer Nya Lee makes it clear that she didn’t think her body was good enough before surgery.
She also makes it clear that we, too, have the option to fix anything about our bodies we’re unhappy with, as she invites everybody across the world to take a trip to NY with the purpose of letting Dr. Shahine make you “beautiful.” How are we defining “beautiful?”
More upsetting is the overall implication that if we’re unhappy we should seek out plastic surgery because, once again, afterwards you’ll be “beautiful.” Who doesn’t want to add that to their resumé?
Nya Lee declares with a giggle:
“It’s 2013! It’s the year of plastic surgery.”
As the video went on, her doctor describes only the body parts he’s worked on as “beautiful” as though the rest are ugly. I thought to myself, “We don’t need more women advocating for plastic surgery. We need more women teaching women to accept their own, individualized beauty.”
It’s your prerogative to change what you want, but we don’t need anyone to advocate for the world of surgically enhanced bodies because insecurities are rampant in this culture, and believe me, the superficial beauty business will live and feed off of those insecurities just fine, unfortunately.
What we need are women telling other women they’re flawless. What we need are women displaying the strength to stop buying into the overload of product, magnification and exaggeration of “flaws,” and stereotypes that go along with being a “beautiful” woman.
We need women to send the message that what you (and others) may look at as “flaws” and “imperfections” are actually what make you, you and that’s a GOOD thing.
My nickname is Sukii Prettyy. I’m definitely an advocate for looking and feeling beautiful, and working toward being your best you. But that’s the thing.. it’s imperative that you also continue to be YOU and understand that how you were born is a gift to the world.
I’m not judging anybody – change what you will, change what you want. But please keep in mind that young women desperately need to know and be sent the message that “beauty” is not defined by perfection and “perfection” is not defined by a person’s ability to achieve a certain look or body type.
I woke up like ‘dis. I woke up like ‘dis. We’re flawless. Ladies, tell ‘em.
Check out the video clips as well as a gallery of Ms. Nya Lee down below.
– Sukii Prettyy
Twitter: SukiiPrettyy
PHOTO/VIDEO CREDIT: Instagram, Daily Motion
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